bengas

Updated: January 4, 2026

Wilson reckons them at less than 2,000, and in 1862 I was told that there were about 1,100, of whom 600 were Bengas. In look, dress, and ornaments they resemble the Mpongwe, but some of them have adopted the Kru stripe, holding a blue nose to be a sign of freedom.

Sir Richard Francis Burton - Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo Volume 1